Freelance Portfolio

I’m a narrative designer and game writer with 3+ years of experience in the games industry.

I’ve worked on Black Chicken Studios’ Victory Belles, VaporwaveGothic Studios’ jjimjilbang: haunted sauna, and freelance game writing projects for several clients. I’ve done some games journalism at EIP Gaming/GameBanshee, as well as some traditional fiction writing.

WORK SAMPLES

MalcolmSchmitz_WorkSamples_WP-PortfolioDownload

TESTIMONIALS

“Working with Malcolm has been one of the highlights of a fifteen-year career in game creation and editing. He’s creative, he’s disciplined, he has an amazing sense for character – and he’s both willing to research and willing to respond (immediately!) to criticism. He’s very, very good, and you’d be lucky to have him.” — John Daly, Editor-in-Chief and VP, Black Chicken Studios.

GAME WRITING

Black Chicken Studios

Since 2020, I’ve been working with Black Chicken Studios on their mobile RPG Victory Belles. I started as a contract editor and, over the course of four years, became a senior writer. I’ve written and edited over twenty stories for Victory Belles, including chapters of the main quest, character romance routes, and limited-time event stories.

I suggested a new story format that allowed characters to interact in ways that they couldn’t before. This new format let the game feel more like its whimsical, character-driven marketing. It became the primary way that Black Chicken told stories going forward.

I also wrote character barks and voice lines, worked with our character designer to create characters’ appearances, and edited existing content to make it stronger and more consistent. I became the team specialist in strengthening weak plots, researching real-world events to provide interesting narrative hooks (ask me about meatleggers!), and grounding off-the-wall concepts within vivid worldbuilding.

VaporwaveGothic Studios

I’ve been working with my own small company, VaporwaveGothic Studio, on a horror RPG called jimjilbang: haunted sauna. It’s about a haunted Korean spa, faceless ghosts, and a young photographer who must unravel the mysteries of her past. We released an early alpha demo in January 2023, and are currently porting the game to a more powerful engine.

General Fiction Writing

Cover of To Clear The Air. An orc holds a lantern in one hand, Her other hand is mechanical.

I’ve published my short fiction in Crossed Genres, Sword and Sorcery Magazine, and Fusion Fragment. My short story “The Captain’s Sphere” made the Long List for the 2015 Otherwise Award.

I’ve also independently published several short stories. My most recent story, “The Cats and the Cockatrice”, was just released in December of 2023.

I’ve written short fiction for FoxFire Fiction, an independent RPG company, to help bring their setting of Talmenor to life.

Content Writing

The logo of EIP Gaming- the title of their site in letters that look like they were carved from stone, set in a polygon. The words "everything is permitted" sit below it. The logo is reminiscent of World of Warcraft.

Since 2022, I’ve written evergreen content for EIP Gaming, and their sister site, Beyond Hogwarts. I’ve written both short-form and long-form articles on strategy games, retro gaming, and indie games. I particularly enjoyed the chance to cover accessibility in gaming– I’ve written articles about games that accommodate hearing-impaired, visually disabled, and motion sick players. I’ve also written reviews and list articles.

In 2023, I wrote evergreen content for ValNet at TheGamer. I’ve written guides for The Sims 4 and Dungeons & Dragons, teaching players how to complete challenge runs and how to build viable characters.

Thank you for checking out my portfolio.